


it's a love story (baby just say yes)

by eloboosting



Category: League of Legends RPF
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Fluff, M/M, flirting through coffee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-13 23:25:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10524114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eloboosting/pseuds/eloboosting
Summary: Seohaeng is an actor of questionable fame and Dayoon is a kindhearted cafe owner with impeccable latte art. Together,they fight crimethey flirt through coffee and survive the filming of a kdrama of questionable plot together.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chronoshift](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chronoshift/gifts).



> happy birthday e!! I hope you appreciate this thing of a story that I wish hadn't written part of while sick, and I hope you have a wonderful day (filled with much happy kuro and spirit) <3

He should’ve said no in the first place.

“It’ll be fun,” Beomhyun had told him, “It’s a great opportunity!”

But Beomhyun isn’t the one slowly melting into his chair out of exhaustion, isn’t the one that’s been straining his face and patience the past five hours at this fan-meet. Seohaeng can’t help breathing out a sigh of relief when he’s finally able to drop the winning smile he’s perfected over the years as security escorts the last fan out the door, flopping a tired hand over his face as he leans his head back.

“Um,” he hears someone mumble, and he peeks open one eye to see one of baristas serving in the café they’d taken over. There’s a paper and pen clutched in his hands and a rueful smile on his face. “I know you’re tired, but if you don’t mind?” He holds out the pen, and Seohaeng slowly sits back upright. “I’m a big fan.”

He looks around—last he checked, his much more famous co-star Gyeonghwan had also called it quits, sneaking into the back room to grab some coffee for himself. “Ah, I think Gyeonghwan is on break. If you wait a moment, he’ll be back,” he says politely, like he has to pretty much every fan who had lined up for him while waiting for the giant crowd around Gyeonghwan to die down.

The barista shakes his head, pushing the paper at Seohaeng again. “A big fan of _you_ ,” he says, and Seohaeng blinks in confusion. He’s barely landed any roles in his short career, never mind _speaking_ ones, so what, in fact, could this person be a fan of? He’s practical enough to know he’s an unknown star using this drama as his big break into the mainstream.

“Of what?” he asks artlessly, and if Beomhyun were here he’d be smacking Seohaeng over the head, nagging him about how this was proof of his hard work and couldn’t he just take good news at face value?

The answer is no; no, he can’t take anything at face value.

The barista looks almost offended, and Seohaeng wonders if maybe he’s alienated his first and only fan.

“Your performance in Fire of Najin was inspiring,” he insists. “And you played one of the most compelling characters in The Second Tiger, even with the limited amount of screentime.”

Seohaeng blinks. “You’ve seen Fire of Najin?” Fire of Najin had been his senior year play in university—not exactly a medium that reached a large audience, and certainly not something he’d expected anyone to have actually seen.

The barista shrugs, but Seohaeng can see the way his cheeks redden. “My friend was in it, too. Kim Hyukkyu?”

Hyukkyu had been a sweet, quiet underclassman who’d enamored pretty much everyone on the cast with his soft smile and inability to reject anyone. Even Seohaeng had been charmed, doting on him whenever he had a chance. Seohaeng feels almost bad for being so disbelieving—he’s a face this guy obviously just happened to recognize, then.

“Oh,” Seohaeng says, and then. “Um.” He finally takes the pen and uncaps it, feeling absurdly awkward for a fan signing. “Who should I make this out to?”

“Lee Dayoon,” he says with a cheery smile while Seohaeng signs the photo accordingly. “You know, I’ve never met an actor so reluctant to acknowledge his own fame.”

Seohaeng awkwardly laughs, finishing his signature with an inelegant loop. “Well, I’m not exactly famous yet.” He offers the photo up, and Dayoon takes it with glee. “Thanks for the ego boost, though.”

-

It _is_ a huge ego boost, something that means a lot to Seohaeng, who has no idea what to do with it really other than to not tell Beomhyun and instead complain about the long hours he forced him to work as Gyeonghwan’s lackey.

“They only ever came to me because the line for Gyeonghwan was too long,” he says over the phone, hearing Beomhyun sigh in reply. “It was frustrating!”

“Oh, no, you had to talk to people who were really excited to meet you,” Beomhyun says back, because he’s obviously in one of his rare unforgiving moods. “How terribly disappointing.”

He moves his phone away from his ear and frowns down at it, even when he knows Beomhyun can’t hear him, and mashes the hang-up button.

There are few ways that he can get back at Beomhyun without actually getting _back_ at him, and only one of them is really all that amusing for him, so he ends up dialing Hyungwoo’s number before he can think it through.

Hyungwoo sounds confused when he picks up, but that doesn’t stop Seohaeng from starting in a bright, sunny tone. “Hey, Hyungwoo? It’s Seohaeng—I was just wondering if you knew that Beomhyun is currently single.” He hums along as he listens to Hyungwoo splutter for a bit. “I’m not implying anything or whatever, just I remember how sweet on him you were during our club outings.”

“Um,” Hyungwoo says. “I, uh. Yeah. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Of course, have a nice day.” He hangs up and lets out a satisfied sigh, wondering just how confused Beomhyun is going to be once Hyungwoo works up the courage.

-

Seohaeng had found it to be a bit of a strange arrangement, really, to have filming in an actual café, but the director had insisted on realism and the studio had been willing to shell out the cost—so at an actual café, it is. But he wonders if the real reason isn’t because of how damn _picky_ Gyeonghwan is about his coffee.

By the time he walks onto set for filming the next day, Gyeonghwan has already settled himself on one of the stools by the bar, chatting pleasantly with Dayoon while the latter goes about pressing the levers and other intricacies required to make the complicated machines work.

“Ah, Seohaeng! You’re just in time,” Gyeonghwan says, patting the seat next to him. “They’re still figuring out the best lighting—it’ll probably be twenty minutes more before we even start filming.”

There’s a warmth in Gyeonghwan’s tone that Seohaeng is incredibly grateful for—mostly because he owes this job to Gyeonghwan and doesn’t want to let him down, but also because Gyeonghwan can be demanding and cold before he’s had his first coffee of the day.  And maybe Seohaeng had deliberately started planning his arrivals in the period of time between Gyeonghwan’s first sip of coffee and the director’s first call, but who wouldn’t want to enjoy a more peaceful life?

“Enough time for a coffee, then, I hope?” He flashes what he hopes is a charming smile at Dayoon. “If it’s not too much of a bother.”

Dayoon shakes his head and grins. “No bother at all—I’m really here to make sure none of the machines malfunction. I let my part-timers time off for the duration of the filming.” He hands off a mug to Gyeonghwan. “That’s a cortado, tell me how it is.”

“Part-timers? Aren’t you—” Seohaeng asks—but wait, that means, “You’re the owner, then?”

“Yep,” Dayoon says easily. “I look young for it, don’t I?”

Quite honestly, Seohaeng is shocked. “Yeah,” he says, feeling rude now. “Not that age means anything, I just never—”

Dayoon waves him off. “It’s fine,” he says, laughing a little as he passes Seohaeng a menu. “But before it’s too late, what can I make you?”

He’s never been extremely well-versed in coffee, but there’s one drink he’s never gone wrong with. “A latte,” he says, and at least Gyeonghwan doesn’t seem to disapprove, still sitting there happily sipping his fancy _cotroda_ or whatever it was called.

“The cortado is amazing,” he says then, as if he can read Seohaeng’s mind. “I like this even more than the cappuccino, I think.”

“Great! We can try another one next,” Dayoon says, concentrated as he is on making Seohaeng’s drink. “How about a macchiato?” His eyebrows furrow as he taps the pitcher with hot milk on the counter a few times before starting to pour, his movements quick and deft and almost elegant to a degree.

“It’s fascinating to watch, isn’t it?” Gyeonghwan asks slyly, and Seohaeng whips his head to turn toward him, flushing a little under Gyeonghwan’s knowing glance.

“Yeah,” he says, wondering if it’s even possible to dig himself into an even deeper hole.

Dayoon finally passes him his cup, a perfect heart drawn in foam sitting right on top, along with a steaming hot chocolate croissant wrapped in a napkin. “On the house,” he says cheerfully. “As thanks for the autograph.”

He can see Gyeonghwan’s eyebrows rise and Seohaeng doesn’t dignify him with an explanation. And yes, there are apparently always deeper holes to land himself in. “Thanks,” he says. “Um.” He takes a hasty sip of his latte and burns his tongue but it’s perfect anyway. “This is amazing.”

-

The drama Seohaeng is currently conscripted to is a little something called Freecs of a Feather, a light-hearted romantic comedy about a spoiled heiress hiding out from the family enemies hunting to force her into an unfavorable marriage and the gentle-hearted café owner who helps her hide out. Seohaeng thinks the concept is a little dated, but apparently if you make the café owner a spy with his own dark, secret past, it’s original and fresh and _new_.

He gets billed as a co-star, anyway, and it’s the most screentime he’s gotten from a part so far, so he’ll take it.

Currently, Gyeonghwan is busy acting patient yet stern as he instructs the heiress about how to properly treat his cafe, leaving Seohaeng to kick back on set with other pieces of the ensemble, Jonghun and Jongik, and relax.

“I sometimes wonder who comes up with the plots for these things, y’know?” Jongik says, expertly flipping a slice of orange into his mouth. “I mean, I get that the usual boy meets girl story is overused, but does every drama nowadays need this kind of convoluted mess?”

Seohaeng tilts his head to the side. “Yeah, I guess when they first started doing them, they got popular and now it’s just in vogue.”

They all wince as the heiress slaps Gyeonghwan for accidentally violating her modesty. “Ouch,” Jonghun says, “That didn’t sound fake this time.”

“It didn’t sound fake the past five other times, either,” Jongik says. “She’s really not pulling her punches, huh.”

“If only she’d get her line right, they could move on from that scene.” There’s a tense, serious look on Gyeonghwan’s face right now, nothing like the perpetual smile he usually has, and Seohaeng gets a sense of foreboding.

He hurries from his chair, just as Gyeonghwan politely asks for a five-minute break. “I’d like some time to let everyone go over their lines _again_.” It’s vaguely pleasant yet intensely terrifying, and Seohaeng has no idea what he has in mind when he pulls Gyeonghwan aside while the actress rushes off stage for her script.

“Hey,” he says, wrapping an arm around Gyeonghwan’s shoulders in a level of intimacy far above any sort of friendship they’ve built. Fortunately, Gyeonghwan still seems distracted by the being-unnecessarily-slapped-five-times and goes along with it easily enough. “Um, did you know—” He wants to say something funny that will get Gyeonghwan to laugh, but the scary look in his eyes causes him to squeak out something more along the lines of, “Did you know that Beomhyun is currently single?”

Gyeonghwan freezes, head slowly turning to face Seohaeng completely. “Really?”

Maybe he should’ve expected something to this degree—most of the reason he even landed this part is through Beomhyun’s expert managing skills and connections. And Gyeonghwan had always seemed to have a soft spot for Beomhyun back in university, too, along with half of the student body. “Yes,” he says tentatively. “And currently has no plans for dinner tonight?”

He can see the gears turn in Gyeonghwan’s head, and with that trap set, continues forward. “It’d probably be best to get through this day of filming as fast as possible, right? So if you wanted to ask, it wouldn’t be too late.”

Gyeonghwan eyes him with a measured gaze, and Seohaeng almost thinks that he’s pushed the point too far until Gyeonghwan shrugs. “Okay.”

For the rest of the day, Gyeonghwan almost seems to glow, gently leading the actress through the rest of the scene, and performing to near perfection for the rest of the shots they need to get through.

“What did you even say to him?” Jongik whispers to him. “He’s like a changed man.”

“He’s _sparkling,_ ” Jonghun adds. “Are you a wizard or something?”

Seohaeng is still dazed himself and he really has nothing for an answer. “I have no idea. I think he just—I just brought out the better part of him?”

- 

Dayoon presents him with a blueberry muffin along with his latte the next morning, and Seohaeng would be lying if he says he isn’t a little charmed by the time and thought Dayoon puts into making his drink, the steadiness in his hands and the graceful sureness he seems to resonate.

“How long have you been doing this?” he asks, pointedly ignoring the vibrating phone in his pocket. It’s definitely Beomhyun, who probably wants to yell at him for the bouquet of flowers Seohaeng saw Gyeonghwan buy during his lunch break. “You’re really good.”

Dayoon just grins at him, easy and lazy. “I know,” he says. The art on top of his drink this time is a row of hearts coming off a thick stem. “It’s probably been four or five years since I started.”

As soon as he’s turned away to start on Gyeonghwan’s drink, Gyeonghwan himself sidles up next to him, casting a meaningful look at his latte art. “He’s cute, you know.”

“That’s—” He can feel his face flush red. “You’re—” He pulls out his still vibrating phone and shoves it in Gyeonghwan’s direction. “That’s Beomhyun, you answer it.”

Gyeonghwan blinks, but he does take his phone from his hand and bring it to his ear. “Hello?” His eyebrows furrow a little before he nods. “Of course I remember your favorite flower, just like I remember your favorite dishes.” His smile widens, almost predatory in size. “How about today for dinner? My treat.”

 _Smooth_ , Seohaeng can’t help but think, immediately envious of the self-confidence, and all through a completely improvised situation.

“Yeah, I can put Seohaeng on for you.” He hands the phone over, patting him on the shoulder with the other. “But really.” He looks over at Dayoon again. “I think you have good chances there.”

He’s still too busy being impressed with Gyeonghwan’s suaveness, he absentmindedly brings the phone back to his ear only to have Beomhyun shout, “ _Seohaeng, you asshole!”_ loud enough to resonate through his head.

“Ow, ow, okay, I’m sorry.”

“First, stop ignoring my calls, and second, _stop throwing men at my door_!”

“I can’t exactly stop men from throwing themselves at your door,” he says. “And they’ve been throwing themselves at your door for _years_ already.”

He hears a loud sigh, and then. “Just tell me filming is going well? You haven’t pissed off the director or any of the producers, have you?”

He takes a sip of his coffee, a little surprised that it tastes different yesterday—even better this time, actually—and he looks up to catch the attention of Dayoon who then _winks_ at him, oh god.

“Seohaeng—are you choking? Oh no, what did you do this time?”

He splutters through another swallow before he manages to catch his breath in time to gasp out, “No, no, nothing’s wrong, just choked on some coffee.”

The sigh Seohaeng hears this time is one of relief. “Okay, good, everything seems to be running well, then?”

“Yeah, yeah. Director Choi runs a tight ship, everything’s on schedule, the staff are nice, it’s a dream job.”

“Don’t make trouble,” Beomhyun says, and that’s how Seohaeng knows the phone call is coming to an end.

“Of course, mother,” he teases. “I’ll talk to you later, filming’s about to start. Tell me about these _favorite flowers_ of yours, hmm?”

He hangs up before Beomhyun can get back to cursing him, taking another sip of his coffee with a satisfied sigh. “Thank you so much,” he says, trying to infuse his words with all the gratefulness he feels. “This is my favorite part of the day.”

Dayoon waves back with a soft smile. “Good luck with today’s filming.”

-

Gyeonghwan holds out a hand. “Trust me.”

He holds out both hands. “Just trust me.”

He kneels down on one knee, offering his arm up this time. “Please, trust me.”

Seohaeng hums, “I think that first combination is best. Any of the others seem too dramatic or needy.”

“Definitely,” Jongik shudders. “The third one just reeks of desperation.”

Gyeonghwan brushes his knees off as he rises to his feet. “You think? Even for such a big reveal?”

Jongik shakes his head. “Yeah, you’re not proposing marriage or something. You’ve already done her a favor stashing her here, just go with the first.”

“Okay, cut! That’s a good shot.”

Seohaeng breathes out a sigh of relief, leaning back against his chair while some of the production staff scurry on set to move things around and polish things up for the next shot. “I thought we were just cheerful café staff—when did we become your spy associates, huh?”

Gyeonghwan shrugs. “How else will you be a good enough match for a family with too much money?”

He scoffs. “I’m sure knowing how to use a gun will definitely be the reason they warm to me.”

“Oh, absolutely.” Gyeonghwan ruffles through his script, his five seconds of playing coy before he asks. “Have you asked Dayoon out on that date, then?”

Seohaeng almost wishes he had coffee with him so he could choke on it and have an excuse not to answer. “What? I—That’s—” He deflates a little. “No.”

Gyeonghwan looks almost a little sympathetic. “Would you like a little help on how?”

-

Dayoon is busy wiping the counters and cleaning things up for the day when Seohaeng steps up to the bar. “Would you be free for dinner sometime this week?”

And yeah, it’s a little direct, but it’s better than any of the smooth, suave stuff Gyeonghwan had suggested that Seohaeng knows he can’t pull off, and _definitely_ better than the flowery stuff Gyeonghwan had suggested after it. In fact, he’d gotten a little sick of listening to Gyeonghwan’s tangent that he had eventually cracked and told Gyeonghwan he’d been extremely helpful in building up his courage and sorry, he’s going to go ask Dayoon right now—

“Oh,” Dayoon blinks, and then, “Yes, definitely, of course! I’m free any day.”

He can’t help but smile from the happiness that bubbles up within. “How about today?”

**Author's Note:**

> subplots with substantial potential that were cut:  
> kuro & gorilla actually meeting in person  
> the many men throwing themselves at gorilla's door & kuro leading many men to throw themselves at gorilla's door  
> trying to continue the weirdness that is this kdrama plot I've concocted (the plot was supposed to be a rip-off of coffee prince but I thought that was too easy)  
> kuro's b-pairing plot in this drama  
> coming up with more terrible ways to include team names with bad movie/drama titles  
> smeb, because I decided marin was already too much diva for one story


End file.
